We happily received over six inches of rain in March and almost three so far in April, and the trees have responded. (Of course, so have the weeds.) It has been enough rain for the trees to come out with fresh, new growth. I see hardly any signs of rust, which makes me hopeful the trees will survive. There haven’t been any decisive blossoming rounds, and it’s getting late to hope for another one, let alone a good one. I’m very curious just how much lower the yield will be.
The next tasks are to fertilize and to weed more regularly. Spanish needles are sprouting up and sticking to us when we walk the land, and the vines are back, ready to seize their moment and spread all over and spiral up when possible.
The stumps are leafing out, but not as vigorously as three years ago, the last cycle this block was stumped.
March 7, 2022, shortly after stumping.April 18, 2022. Six weeks later, the stumps are leafing out.Early-May 2019, the first time this block was stumped and leafed out.
Below are some other scenes from the farm today.
New growth from a tree stumped in February.
One of the fruit bearing trees. Decent, but not great. Note that most of the leaves are new and on the top branches.
Many of the trees that should bear fruit, aren't. The leaves are gone from last year's rust, but the new top growth looks healthy.
Last year it was hard to see or get between these trees because of all the leaves. Then leaf rust hit and most of the leaves dropped. Now the top growth is healthy.
The pigs continue to rototill. Our compost pile is the mound in front of the bananas.
More pig rototilling. On the plus side, it keeps away many weeds.
A few of the taller coffee trees planted last year.
Most of the new trees here have been hit over and over by the pigs, so they've remained small. The orange flags help ensure the little guys don't get lost in the weeds.
Wow, its great to see nature progress in time lapse…